Ornamental product and method of producing the same



Sept. 27,1932. A. HowARD ORNAMENTAL PRODUCT AN) METHOD OF PRODUCING TH SAME Filed June 16 VPatented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED sTATlazs PATENT ALBERT L. HOWARD, OP DRoCxTON,MASsAcHUsETTS, ASSIGNOR To HAMiLTorLvirAnE` COMPANY, OP BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS ORNAMENTAL PRODUCT AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME Application medium; 1e,A

This invention relates to composite ornamental products of sheet material and includes within its scope a. novel method of producing the same. f

While the eld of the invention extends to substantially every art wherein an ornamental surface may be desired, it is herein shown for purposes of illustration in its application to the manufact-ure of shoes and under such circumstances the materials used will be upper leather and textile fabric. Various expedients have been attempted in the past for producing an ornamental effect by inlaying work in'contrasting colors or by various methods Vof weaving or lacing together upper leather of dissimilar character. VvWhile my invention relates Ato this general field of endeavor, I have discovered a new manner of associating layers of sheet material and of securing them together whereby a novel ornamental effect of striking artistic merit may be secured and which at the same time may be produced by a process which' may be carried out economically under the usual conditions of commercial manufacture. The product of my invention, moreover, affords an opportunity for designs of widely differing appearance and I am thus enabled to meet the diverse tastes of different consumers by varying one or more .of the constituent portions of my product in character, proportionV or color. Y

In one aspect," my invention comprises a composite ornamental product comprising dissimilar layers of sheet material each having a series of spaced slots therein and being superimposed with portions of the lower layer or layers filling the slots ofthe uppermost layer and secured in position-therein. As applied to theshoemaking art, forexample, I may providein the vamp a series of slots and then place beneath the line of slots an underlying layer similarly'slotted a but disposed with its slots in line with the spaces of the vamp. By causing the material of the underlying layer to'enterand lill the slots in the vamp, I have produced in the surface of the vamp a line of Ornamental inserts which may be of a color` contrasting with the vamp or of a material otherwise 1930. serial 1ra-461,510.

presentingan appearance different from the surface of the vamp. iAsthe shape of the inserts is determinedbythe shape ofthe slots in the vamp, I am enabled 'to secure a further ornamental effect by-formingthe ner explained. A Vlienthis is done,.the lacing member is exposed .between the portions of inlay so that afthree-coloredeffect,is presented and thisef'fectgmay be heightened by employing a ribbon or silk or yother textile ,FFIICE- materiah The lacing or filamentousv member slightly at the edge of each -ply and lying itself substantially flat upon the surface of thefacing layer.

As already intimated, the productabove described mayfbe produced by methods well adapted for con'nnercial` manufacture, 'for example, the facing and underlying layers may be easily and rapidly perforated by perforatin g machines available upon the market, then superposed with their respective perfo-V rations in staggered relation, and finally the product is completed andthe layers main-i tained permanently in the' relationthus established by weaving the lacing member 'in and out of the slots' in the manner already explained.

The product'of my invention and the methodof producing the same will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of* certain preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and'shown in the accompanyingdrawing,in which f l' Fig. 1 is a plan view of an ornamental vamp with a portion broken away;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a product having ornamental slots in its facing layer;

Fig. 3 is a. plan view of a strip product of the general character of the vamp shown in Fig. l; l

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the vamp shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line V-V of Fig. 1; and

' Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of astripl product made with a cord.

As already stated, my invention may be embodied in practically any composite product which may be made of Hexible sheet material. Thin upper leather used in the manufacture of boots and shoes lends itself 'particularly well to ornamentation by the method of my invention. Accordingly, in Fig. 1 I have shown a vamp 10 intended fora shoe upper and provided with three lines of ornamentation in its forepart. In producing this ornamentation, the vamp is rst perforated with a line of uniformly spaced perforations 12. As herein shown,these are arranged transversely of the line of ornamentation and have curved or rounded ends, Valthough t-he outline of the perforations will depend upon the effect which it is desired to secure in the ornamentation. The vamp 10 constitutes the exposed or facing layer of the product being described.

The underlying layer in the product shown in Fig. 1 constitutes a thin strip of ribbon 14 of a dark-colored upper leather and this, as shown through the broken away part of the vamp, is also perforated, having a row of apertures 16 similar in shape and spacing to the apertures 12 of the vamp. The width of the underlying strip 14`is immaterial so long as it exceeds that of the apertures 12 of the vamp, and the apertures may be of any desired shapeor may-'be reduced in width to mere slits since it is the material of the spaces 18 only which is exposed in the finished product.

Th-e vamp 10 constituting the facing layer and t-he strip 14 constituting the underlying layer are then assembled with their respective apertures out of line or in staggered relation. This brings the material of the spaces 18 of the underlying strip into registration with the apertures 12 of the vamp'lO. The material of the spaces 18 of the underlying strip is then forcedupwardly into the apertures 12 of the vamp, completely filling the apertures and bulging somewhat above the surface of the vamp, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. This relationship is made permanent by threading or weaving a filamentous member alternately over the surface of the vamp 10,'then' under a space 18 of the underlying strip 14, then over the surface of the vamp, and so on. As shown in Fig. 1, I have employed a ribbon 20 of upper leather of substantially the same color and texture as the material of the vamp'lO as a lacing member. This may be readily threadedor run-in in the manner eX- plained with the assistance of a needle or bodkin and is then drawn so that it lies substantially flat'upon the surface of thefvamp. The posit-ion of the ribbon 20 and the manner in which it ho-lds the layers of material in place willbe apparent from the sectional view of Fig. 5. It will be understood that the ribbon 2O holds the material of each space `18 of the underlying strip in a position completely to fill the apertures 12 of the vamp, thus forming in each perforation a small insert having somewhat the eifect o-f an inlay, the outline `whereof being determined by the outline of the apertures '12. In Fig. 1 the lines 0f ornamentation are shown as terminating in raw or unfinished ends but it will be understood that in incorporating such a vamp into a shoe the ends of the ornamental lines will beinished either by being lasted under, overlapped or folded.

In Fig. 2, I have illustrated a modification of my invention in which the filamentous member is omitted and the two layers secured together by cement. In this case the facing layer 30 is provided with a row of heartshaped apertures 32. The underlying layer 34 comprises a ribbon of thin upper leather of a darker color than the facing layer and this is provided with a series of slots 36 equally spaced and separated by a distance slightly exceeding the width ofthe heart-shaped apertures of the facing layer. The facing layer 30 and the underlying ribbon 34 are superimposed with the spaces of the ribbon 34, registering with the apertures 32 of the facing layer. The two layers are then forced into intimate contact'so that the material of the underlying lribbon 34 bulges somewhat through the apertures 32, thus producing in each aperture a heart-shaped insert 36. It will be apparent that the slots 36 render the ribbonp34 relatively flexible whereby to permit the bulging of its material intothe apertures 32 and eliminate to agreat degree the possibility of the strip 34 pulling away and becoming detached from the layer 30. It will be apparent that the outline of the apertures 32 inthe facing layer may be varied to suit the taste of the manufacturer and that a ribbon slotted as shown in Fig. 2 may be employed in the production of designs having many characteristic differences.

- .InV Fig. 3 vI have shown my inventionas embodied in a three-color strip product .which may be used as an ornamental bindingor strap. In this case, the facing layer comprises a narrow ribbon 40of a light-colored upper leather provided with perforations iis similar in shape to those of the vamp shown in Fig. 1 but somewhat smaller. The underlying layer comprises a slightly wider ribbon 42 of a darker upper leather and this is similarly provided with a row of apertures 44. The two ribbons are superimposed with their respective apertures in staggered relamental strip produced, therefore, presents a light-colored facing 40 flanked at either edge by a narrow dark-colored border and embellished with a series of dark inlays or inserts 46 alternating with a series of sections of brilliant color supplied by the ribbon 50.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a further modifica.- tion of my invention, in which I employ as afilamentous member a cord of substantially circular cross section as distinguished from the flat ribbons shown in Figs. 1 and 3. In this case, the facing layer comprises a ribbon of a dark-colored upper leather provided with a series of substantially square apertures or perforations. The underlying layer comprises a narrower ribbon 62 of a light-colored upper leather similarly perforated and disposed with its perforations in staggered relation to those of the facing ribbon 60. The material of thespaces in the underlying ribbon 62 is maintained 'in the apertures of the ribbon 60 by a round cord of brightly-col0red rayon or the like which is laced alternately over the surface of the fac.-

ing ribbon 60 and under the material of the spaces in the underlying ribbon 62. Theunderlying ribbon 62 in this case is hidden except at the center of the strip, where it is brought through the apertures of the ribbon 60. The composite product thus produced is a three-color effect but without the border shown in Fig. 3.

It will be apparent that the product illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 6 is reversible in character and that the design shown on one face of the product is substantiallyv duplicated on the other if the material usedis of the same color on both sides, or different colors if the opposite sides of the material are differently finished.` This characteristic of the product of my invention is of substantial value from the commercial standpoint as it enables the manufacturer to keep in stock practically two different designs vfor each item of his inventory.

In the foregoing description I have referred to a line or row of apertures in the layers of the composite product. yThis line or row may be straight, as shown in the illustrated examples of the invention, or may be curved as, for example, in the form of a scroll if more suitably applied in suchvform to work of curved outline or if a curved form of ornamentatlon 1s desired. f w

Having thus described my invention, what i I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is :V Y

l. A composite ornamental product comprising dissimilar layers of flexible sheet material superimposed one on the-other, the uppermost layer having a line of apertures of decorative outline and the underlying layer being slotted l in locationsV opposite to .the spaces-between the apertures lof the uppermost layer and having intermediate portions in contact with and outlinedby the apertures of the uppermost layer, and, means holding the underlying layer inv immovable face to i face vContact with the portions of the uppermost layer bordering its said apertures.

2. A composite ornamental strip Yfor use in shoemaking, comprising an underlying ribbon having a series of slots therein,.a superimposed ribbon `having openings cut therein which are disposed in staggeredrelationto the slots ofthe underlying ribbon, and tape of textile material threaded through the t'wo ribbons insuch mannery as to hold portions of the underlying ribbon in the openings of the y superimposed ribbon, the proportions and arrangement being such that the openings in the superposed ribbon are hidden Vbeneath the said portions and tapes. l

3. An ornamentaly vbinding comprising a facing strip having a series of equally-spaced transversely-elongated apertures varranged symmetrically between its edges, a backing strip c ut out to form spaced cross bars which register with the apertures of the facing strip, said strips being superimposedwith the cross bars of the backing strip extending into and completely filling the apertures of the facing strip, and a lace member of substantially the same width as said apertures engaging said y cross bars and overlying portions of the facing stripbetween said apertures.

Y 4. The method of producing a composite ornamental article, which consists in forming` a row of perforations ina facing layer of sheet material,fsimilarly perfo-rating an underlyingV layer, superimposing the two layers with their respective perforations in staggered relation, completely filling the'perforations of the facing layer with the material of the underlying layer andV immovably securing the layers in such relation. l

5. The method of producing acomposite ornamental article, which consists in fqrming a row of perforations ina facing layer, similarly perforating an underlying layer, superimposing the two layers with their respective perforations out of linev with each other, and then lacing a filamentous member of a width substantially equalto the width of the perforations under portions of the underlying layer and over portions of the facing layer thereby maintaining the two inl fixed relation and closing the'flrst-named perforations by said 'member and thev firstnamed portions. y

- 6. A composite ornamental product com'- prising two layers of iieXible sheet material one having ay line of relatively spaced apertures and the other having a line of relatively spaced apertures in alignment with the iirst line but arranged alternately thereto,

` thetwo layers being cemented together in face to tace contact with the material of the underlying layer between its apertures bulging into the-lirst-named apertures throughout their entire areas.

7. A composite ornamental product comprising two layers of flexible sheet material one having a line of relatively spacedV apertures and the other having a line of relatively spaced apertures in alignment with the lirst line but arranged alternately thereto, and filamentous means securing the two layers together with the material of the underlying layer between its apertures engaged withinl the first-named apertures throughout their entire areas.

8. A composite ornamental product comp ising two layers of flexible sheet material one havinnf a line of relatively spaced apertures and the other having a line of relatively spaced apertures in alignment with the first line but arranged alternately thereto, and a strip lacing passing through the aper tures of the underlying layer and over the outer face of the outer layer and securing the layers together with the material of the underlying layer between itsapertures engaged within the first-named apertures throughout their entire areas. Y

9. A composite ornamental product comprisingtwo layers of flexible sheet material one having a lineof'relatively spaced apertures and the other having a line of relatively spaced apertures in alignment with the irst line but arranged alternately'thereto, and a strip in alignment with the said apertures and resting on the outer face of the upper layer and engaging beneath the mate,- rial between the apertures of the underlying layer in a. manner binding the two layers together, the strip being of a widthsubstantially equal to the width of the apertures.

ALBERT n HOWARD., 

